Asahi Linux M3 Support Reaches the Mainline Kernel, but GPU and Display Remain Gaps
Do Son 
The Asahi Linux team recently announced that support for Apple’s M3-series chips has been progressing steadily, with the first M3 platform code now merged upstream. After prolonged reverse engineering, a growing share of the functionality already available on M1 and M2 devices is beginning to work on M3 hardware. However, several key pieces remain in development.
It should be noted that Asahi Linux is not itself an independent distribution. The team’s principal work is developing support for M-chip devices and upstreaming the Linux kernel, drivers, and boot support. For ordinary users, these fruits are chiefly accessible through Fedora Asahi Remix. Linux kernel 7.2 has merged the first wave of M3 platform support. Furthermore, additional code will continue to reach the mainline kernel.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Basic Peripherals Now Work
Among the features already functioning on M3 devices are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NVMe storage, PCIe, and CPU frequency and idle management. On the M3 and M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, microphones, and 3.5mm jack are likewise operational, and suspend/sleep is supported. Hardware-accelerated video decoding is available as well. However, per the team’s feature-support table, AV1 decoding is not yet enabled on the M3 series.
The webcam’s status varies by model. It is working on the 14- and 16-inch M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro. However, it remains a work in progress on the M3 iMac, the M3 MacBook Pro, and the M3 MacBook Air.
USB, Thunderbolt, GPU, and Display Are the Main Gaps
The M3 Pro and Max adopt Apple’s new ACE3 USB control scheme, for which Apple shifted the interface from I2C to SPMI, obliging the team to reverse-engineer the relevant hardware anew. With the SPMI driver now upstream, that groundwork is laid. However, USB2 and USB3 over the Thunderbolt ports remain works in progress, and full Thunderbolt support is not yet under way.
The largest gaps are the GPU and complete DCP display-controller support. The Asahi Linux team pointedly cautions that, at this stage, one should not expect high-performance or power-efficient 3D acceleration on the M3, as GPU work is still ongoing. The main display, screen brightness, and DisplayPort Alt Mode all remain in development. HDMI output on the applicable MacBook Pro is likewise a work in progress. The installer itself is still marked as a work in progress for M3 devices, so these Macs are not yet formally within the fully supported range.
Support Our Threat Intelligence
Find our tech and OS security coverage helpful? Support our work today and unlock a 100% ad-free reading experience!
Buy Me a Coffee
